RubyStar

I keep meaning to get the Eclipse mint tins out and start scent with Pippa. It's on the to-do list! Along with everything else!!

Hope your son feels better soon, OSS! And how exciting for a potential show home! I know someone who is really looking forward to hearing if Rommi is in fact currently baking puppies! :D RFT, I've heard the black minis are crazier, and that may be true, but I have nothing to compare Pippa to. Crazy suits me just fine! I want her spunk in a bigger dogs body!! Though I am having heaps of fun training a littlie for a change :) Hope you feel better soon too, RV!

Don't think I could handle a drooly breed. Mine drool if I leave them in front of their dinner bowl for too long, but that's about it Minis on the other hand, are cobweb brooms! Poor Pippa (sorry it's so large!!)

I went in the opposite direction :laugh: I was a one-eyed Lab girl for MANY years, even before actually owning one. Never contemplated another breed, they were always the one I wanted. Since being on DOL and being involved in dog sports, my eyes have been opened up to the many other possibilities. My list of dogs I want to own is still relatively short (on top of the Lab, maybe 2 others?) but Labs are here to stay! I admire so many breeds, but they aren't for me and my current lifestyle :) So are you getting another GSP or Viszla? Or is it a seeecreeeet?

Glad you're having a great time ST!!! You lucky duck

Me thinks RosieFT should get a mini as a live-in playmate for Rosie :) And black! ;)

I don't think mum would like that idea!! :laugh: Oh and I think the answer to your question last night was "skirt" I really have no clue!!

I started the Cert III at TAFE but could only do 2 units at a time. I ended up quitting it as it wasn't what I was after, and some classes gave me the sh*ts because the lecturers had a very narrow view on things, especially on purebred dogs. I'm not sure there are many well paid jobs at the end of it, but it all depends on if you want to use it as stepping stone to something else I guess? Willow, what sort of dog training job did you end up working in?

Not many, it was eerily quiet. I left at 8.30, and wouldn't be surprised if things were packed up not long after that.

Sure did! It costs money to be in a class and I already had to miss 2, I wasn't missing another!! The girls had Monday off to recover :p

Slowly recovering! I went to agility training last night, and discovered my feet are a little blistered, ouch! Everyone else was recovering it seems as there were only 6 of us in class (3 in each height of 400 and 500), so every 3rd dog I was running again! Gave me an opportunity to switch my dogs around for a run with plenty of opportunities! I got Pippa out at 8pm for a tiny bit of training, I think she had fun! After we did a restrained recall, a bit of tugging, a bit of circle work (oopsies, ruined another one, she kept coming back to my left hand side!) and a couple of sends over a jump on the ground to get her toy, she was burnt out unfortunately, so we packed it in. She's easily distracted by other dogs too so we will keep it short and sweet and work her concentration up :) When she goes from tugging like a maniac, to half hearted tugging, I know I've gone too far. Something I need to keep in mind!

Fostering, or talking family members or friends into owning certain breeds, can open your eyes for breeds you never would have considered owning before. I never was a fan of mini schnauzers, but my mum now has one and she is just gorgeous. Quite smitten with the spunky little thing My sister will be getting a whippet hopefully soon, so I am looking forward to getting to know that breed up close, too :) My heart are with gundogs, though!

Yep :) There are a couple of breeds I would like to realistically own one day (Aussie Shep, I blame Leopuppy , and because I'm head over heels for one of Ptolomy's girls, a Toller perhaps at some stage but at least that is still a beloved gundog ), plus others that I like but can't see me ever getting (Beagle and English Setter for starters). Regardless of what I own, though, I will always have a Lab in my life. Well, that's the plan anyway, because I've told Ruby she isn't allowed to get any older and we are to see old age in together ;)

Nah I'm not on any Agility lists. Oh well! :)

Do you have a link to the details, please?

MG, don't bank on the RATG's being on an oval. Pretty sure they will take place in a bit of cover. Hope your boy can take part :)

When does the training start? This Sunday?

Can't believe that you are unable to enter Millie. Reading the rules it says that Associate registered dogs can enter as long as the member body deems that they fit the description of breed. Millie sure looks like a Labrador to me. It doesn't say anything about re-registering a dog. Just reassuring you about bees later in the season. We very rarely are bothered with bees at sites. Flys and ants are more of a nuisance. Because the dogs are staked either in grass or sand, there usually aren't any bees close by. Spring would be the time to be on the lookout when the dandelions are in flower. Yeah I know about Millie, I'm furious! But what can ya do? Apparently DogsWest are going to go about it like the eastern states are (which is fair enough) which involves providing front on and side on photos then having them assessed. If deemed a gundog, they will be issued a new registration number as Associate Gundog (AG instead of AR). So that is all fine, but this formality should have been finalized long before now!!!! She certainly looks like a Lab and loves to retrieve like one! Thanks for the reassurance with bees. If there is a bee around, it will find Ruby! It may look silly but I may resort to crating Ruby in the hide instead of tying her out (enclosed soft crate), for the extra peace of mind. Good thing she isn't allergic to ants because she's been bitten by a few recently, too! :laugh:

I never had the pleasure of meeting Val or Guinea. Are there any videos floating about on youtube of the pair of them working? I'd love to see :)

And on a less exciting note, both my girls finished off their strat pairs SPD titles last night, with a 2nd (Millie and Jillie) and 3rd (Ruby and Tika) placing :) Ruby was one missed contact away from gaining a snooker pass, and Millie was a missed contact away from a gamblers pass. Pesky A-Frame contacts!! Think I better work on those a bit more because when it comes to trialling, it all goes to poo ;)

The yuuuuuuuuuugest of congratulations goes out to Ptolomy and dear Scoota. They won the very prestigious Valerie Meyn Trophy last night at the Western Classic, for their outstanding achievements in both obedience and agility! Well done, guys!!!! What a super team :D :D :D

Well done TSD and Em!!!! WA's first RATG is being held at the end of this month, but at this stage, it is looking like I can't enter DogsWest still haven't finalised how to go about registering Associate Gundogs, so Millie is still ineligible to enter And as for Ruby, well I am still very concerned about bees this time of year so not sure it's worth entering her. All that and the fact that March is still very warm in Perth, there are most likely snakies still slithering around. I think we will enter the one in April after the retrieving trial that DogsWest have their act together by then!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats dyzney and everyone else on their upcoming prospects!! Such a fun time with a new baby to work with :D

Well done Ptolomy and Scoota on your pass! And happy retirement!!! Congrats mirawee with Banjo and Abbey! Saw your run with Abbey, it was lovely! Missed your run with Banjo, though. Millie ran like the wind last night, soooooo happy with her speed and enthusiasm! Some near misses with her. She ran around the spread in JDX, and missed her weaver entry in ADX. Disclaimer: I guess anything is running like the wind compared to Ruby Just meant she ran "fast" for my low standards :laugh: Star of the night for me was my Ruby. She debuted in Excellent Agility last night, still with her dogwalk/see-saw phobia, and came away with a pass and 1st place in 500!!! The dogs are KNACKERED!! We got home and after dinner they immediately crashed in bed. I had to wake them up at 10am this morning 3 nights down, 1 more to go! Poor dogs will be in a coma for the rest of the week

But what about for all the wine in Liquorland? :D